Improvement in hay-presses



T, E. MARABL-E.

yEBay-Press.

No. 214,828. Patented April-29,1879.

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UNITED STATES PATENT CJEEIcEo THOMAS E. MARABLE, OF PETERSBURG,VIRGINIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN HAY-PRESSES.

Specieation forming part of Letters Patent No. 214,828, dated April 29,1879,' application led January 9, 1879.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS E. MARABLE, of Petersburg, in the county ofDinwiddie and State of Virginia, have invented a certain new andImproved Hay-Press; and I do hereby declare the following' to be a full,clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which-Figure l is a perspective view of the complete press, and Fig. 2 adetail view of one of the operating-levers. i

The object of this invention is to provide, for the pressing of hay andother materials to which it is applicable, a simple, convenient,effective, and inexpensive press, which can be readily constructed inany small country town where a carpenters' shop and a blacksmiths shopare accessible.

The invention consists in the combination, with the press-box and itsplaten, of graduated ratchet-plates arranged on opposite sides ot thevertical slots in the press-box, hinged stirrups depending from theplaten-arms an d forming fulcrums for adjustable operating-levers, andretaining-pawls pivoted to the top of said platen-arms, and adapted toengage with said racks, substantially as l will now proceed to describe.

In the drawings, A is the press-box, into which the hay is fed at theopen top, and from which the bale is delivered at the doors D in theusual manner. S S are vertical slots in the sides of the box, in whichthe arms p of the platen work up and down. Pivoted on the upper side of'each arm at e is adepen'ding stirrup, E, which acts as a movable hangingfulcrum for the levers L, by which the platen is operated. Pivoted alsoon the top oi' each arm at m is a pawl, M which inclines upward andinward, so as to engage by its own gravity with a ratchet-plate orratchet-plates, W, attached to the box at the lateral edges of the slotsS.

' Inasmuch as greater speed and less power are required when the platenis at the top of the box and the hay is loose than when the platen isnear the limit of its downward movement and the hay compacted, Igraduate the notches or teeth w ot' the ratcl1et-plates,di minishingtheir size or distance apart gradually from the upper part to the lowerpart ot' said plates, as shown. I also arrange a series of transversegrooves, l, across the under side of the levers, as shown in` Fig. 2.

The levers can be fulcrum'ed in the different grooves or notches l, toincrease or diminish their power at will, the hanging stirrups readilyaccommodating themselves tosuch changes. The graduated teeth w areadapted to the gradual shortening of the inner arm of the lever, andconsequently shorten the stroke thereof. The press can thus be operatedquickly when the hay isrst putin, andas it becomes compressed the leverscan be given a shorter stroke and the hay `compressed with great power.

The construction of the press is very simple, and it is exceedinglydurable, and is convenient of operation.

The stirrups, fastenings, pawl, and ratchetplates can be made in anysmall blaeksmithshop or foundry, and the rest can be made and the wholeput together by any person having an ordinary degree of skill inhandling tools.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new- The combination,with the press-box and its platen, ot' the ratchet-plates W, arranged onopposite sides of the vertical slots in the pressbox, the hingedstirrups E, depending from the platen-arms and forming t'ulcrums for theadjustableoperating-levers L, and the retainin g-pawls M. pivoted to thetops of the platenarms, and adapted to engage with the racks,substantially as described, for the purpose specified.

THOMAS E. MARABLE.

Witnesses:

Rn. GILLIAM, J r., J. S. CARY.

